Dr Ann Farley Director of Cross Faculty Initiatives
Recently I watched the CNN documentary, We will rise: Michelle Obama’s mission to educate girls around the world. I heard young women from Morocco and Liberia tell their stories of what education means to them and the challenges that they overcome each day to get to school. As I continued to listen to these articulate young women, I realised how easy it is to take our many opportunities for granted. I was touched by their passion, their appreciation for the little they had and their determination to learn regardless of the obstacles they faced.
This inspiring narrative resulted from a collaboration between Michelle Obama, Meryl Streep, Freida Pinto (star of Slum Dog Millionaire) and CNN journalist, Isha Sesay. It was easy to see why they had such passion for this project as each related a personal story about how their mother or grandmother had struggled for either her own education or that of her children. The importance of strong women sharing their passion for learning with following generations was an ongoing theme.
Ensuring that a nation’s girls are educated unlocks significant human potential (Let Girls Learn, 2015). Since the early 1990s, there has been an ever-increasing appreciation of the potential resource that women and girls represent (Kristof and Wudunn, 2009). In 1992, Lawrence Summers, then chief economist of the World Bank said, ‘Educating girls yields a higher rate of return than any other investment in the developing world‘. The United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals highlight the importance of quality education as being the foundation for improving people’s lives and achieving sustainable development. (United Nations Development Programme, 2016) We know that more educated women tend to be healthier, participate more in the formal labour market, earn more income, have fewer children and provide better health care and education to their children. To educate a girl improves the well-being of all individuals and lifts households and communities out of poverty (World Bank, 2013). ’Too often, a girl who could change her world for the better is locked out of that future by the circumstances of her birth or the customs of her community and country‘ (Let Girls Learn).
We will rise highlights these issues through stories such as Raphina’s:
Raphina lives in in the city of Kakata, in Liberia, a country on the West African coast. She is twenty years old. Her father died when she was nine. Her mother could have arranged for her to marry for the dowry or made her work in the home. Instead she made a huge sacrifice, both from a cultural and personal perspective. She sent her daughter away to live with relatives so that she could continue her education, but Raphina’s life is not easy. She does most of the housework, she goes to the market and cooks. Then she goes to school. When she comes home she does more housework, and when everyone else has gone to bed – from 9 pm to 11 pm – she studies in a narrow hallway where there is barely enough light to read. Despite her commitment, Raphina’s uncle questioned the value of paying her school fees but it was ultimately Raphina’s education that saved his life. Raphina’s favourite subjects are Biology and Chemistry and she wants to be a doctor. When her uncle got sick with Ebola, she recognised the symptoms from Biology class. Initially he did not believe her because she was a girl, but she persisted. Her uncle was quarantined, treated and he survived. ’Educate a girl and good things happen to the family‘ (Sesay in Sexton and Gerber, 2016).
When asked about challenges facing girls and education in her country, Raphina spoke about the Ebola outbreak and the fact that many girls were left without anyone to support or encourage them in their education. ’Those girls feel like they have no one in society‘, she said.
The documentary was filled with young women telling similar stories as they shared insights into their homes and families, challenges, and hopes and dreams. It was impossible not to be touched by their love of education and the lengths to which they were willing to go to enable them to receive that education. They challenged you to consider the world through their eyes. These girls have so much to teach us about determination, confidence, courage, passion and leadership. Despite their enormous struggles, their commitment to education has given them a voice.
The documentary included two forums where Obama, Streep, Pinto, Sesay and a number of the girls shared their perspectives about the role of education in their lives. Their insightful discussions held something for us all. In response to a question about leadership, strengths and weaknesses, Michelle Obama replied, ’Confidence and pride, that’s the beginning of becoming a leader. It’s just starting to do things that you don’t feel comfortable doing but you push yourself to do them anyway.’ She spoke of the importance of authenticity, ’One of my strengths is to just be me wherever I am. You don’t have to be someone different to be important. You’re important in your own right. People need to value you because of who you are, because of your story‘.
In the final forum the conversation turned to self-doubt and maintaining confidence in one’s own ability. Meryl Streep commented that the young women she had met had ’such strength of purpose‘, stating, ’it all exists within each one of you. It is already there and you just have to reach in and access it’.
When the documentary concluded I reflected on how important our perspective is in shaping our thinking and what we value in life. It is not what we are given but the value that we place on it that is important. Through their stories these young women had reminded me of the confidence and strength of purpose that can come from recognising education as the tremendous gift that it is.
References
Kristof, N., & Wudunn, S. (2009). Half the sky: How to change the world. London: Virago Press.
Lawrence, S. (1992).The most influential investment. Scientific American. 267, 132.
Let Girls Learn. (2015). Retrieved from https://letgirlslearn.gov/
Sexton, C., & Gerber, T. (2016). We will rise: Michelle Obama’s mission to educate girls around the world. USA, CNN
United Nations Development Programme. (2016). Sustainable development goals. Retrieved from http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals.html
World Bank. (2013). Girls’ education. Retrieved from http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/girlseducation